Esteemed Writer László Krasznahorkai Awarded the Nobel Nobel Prize in Literature
The prestigious Nobel Prize in Literature for the year 2025 has been awarded to from Hungary author László Krasznahorkai, as declared by the committee.
The Jury praised the 71-year-old's "gripping and imaginative collection that, amidst apocalyptic dread, reaffirms the strength of creative expression."
A Renowned Path of Dystopian Writing
Krasznahorkai is celebrated for his dark, pensive works, which have garnered numerous awards, including the recent National Book Award for translated literature and the 2015 Man Booker International Prize.
A number of of his books, among them his novels Satantango and The Melancholy of Resistance, have been turned into feature films.
Early Beginnings
Hailing in a Hungarian locale in the mid-1950s, Krasznahorkai first gained recognition with his mid-80s debut novel Satantango, a grim and hypnotic representation of a disintegrating countryside settlement.
The novel would later earn the Man Booker International Prize award in the English language decades after, in 2013.
An Unconventional Prose Technique
Commonly referred to as postmodernist, Krasznahorkai is renowned for his lengthy, intricate phrases (the dozen sections of Satantango each comprise a single paragraph), dystopian and somber themes, and the kind of unwavering intensity that has led critics to liken him to literary giants like Kafka.
The novel was widely transformed into a seven-hour motion picture by director the director Béla Tarr, with whom Krasznahorkai has had a enduring working relationship.
"Krasznahorkai is a great writer of epic tales in the central European literary tradition that traces back to Kafka to the Austrian writer, and is defined by the absurd and grotesque exaggeration," commented the Nobel chair, head of the Nobel panel.
He portrayed Krasznahorkai’s prose as having "evolved into … smooth language with extended, meandering lines lacking full stops that has become his trademark."
Literary Praise
Susan Sontag has called the author as "the modern Hungarian master of end-times," while Sebald commended the universality of his vision.
A handful of Krasznahorkai’s works have been published in the English language. The critic Wood once wrote that his books "get passed around like rare currency."
International Inspiration
Krasznahorkai’s professional journey has been influenced by travel as much as by his writing. He first departed from communist his homeland in 1987, spending a twelve months in West Berlin for a fellowship, and later drew inspiration from Eastern Asia – especially Asian nations – for works such as The Prisoner of Urga, and Destruction and Sorrow Beneath the Heavens.
While writing War and War, he travelled widely across European nations and lived for a time in Ginsberg's New York home, noting the legendary poet's assistance as vital to completing the work.
Author's Perspective
Inquired how he would characterize his oeuvre in an conversation, Krasznahorkai answered: "Characters; then from letters, vocabulary; then from these terms, some brief phrases; then further lines that are lengthier, and in the primary extremely lengthy paragraphs, for the period of decades. Elegance in language. Enjoyment in hell."
On readers encountering his books for the first time, he continued: "If there are individuals who have not yet read my books, I would refrain from advising anything to peruse to them; on the contrary, I’d recommend them to go out, settle in a place, possibly by the edge of a stream, with no obligations, a clear mind, just being in quiet like rocks. They will in time meet a person who has encountered my novels."
Nobel Prize Context
Ahead of the reveal, betting agencies had listed the favourites for this annual award as Can Xue, an experimental Chinese author, and Krasznahorkai.
The Nobel Award in Writing has been awarded on one hundred seventeen past events since the early 20th century. Latest winners include Annie Ernaux, the musician, Gurnah, Louise Glück, Peter Handke and Olga Tokarczuk. The most recent winner was Han Kang, the Korean author renowned for The Vegetarian.
Krasznahorkai will ceremonially receive the award and diploma in a event in the month of December in Stockholm, Sweden.
Updates to come